Rapid Response Water Test System to Enhance Emergency Response Plan

Rapid Response Water Test System to Enhance Emergency Response Plan

To maintain the highest levels of security and protection to its water supplies and infrastructure, Bexar Metropolitan Water District (BexarMet) is the first utility in southern Texas to employ the Eclox Rapid Response Water Test System from Severn Trent Services as part of its district-wide emergency response plan. The Eclox system can quickly and easily detect a broad spectrum of chemical and organic contaminants that may be present in a community water system. BexarMet will have the system on hand to verify the safety and quality of the water they provide to more than 80,000 customers located within a four county region.

With Eclox, the BexarMet staff can quickly and easily identify the presence of foreign substances in the district's 105 wells and 97 storage tanks that contain more than 50.2 million gallons of water. Since the Eclox system weighs less than 20 lbs. and is easily transported, district technicians are conveniently conducting testing from their company vehicles.

"We have conducted baseline testing with 72 samples from the area," said Roger Placencia, water quality supervisor for BexarMet. "Using Eclox will help us stay ahead of any potential problems that might affect our customers."

At the heart of the Eclox system is the innovative and patented luminometer, which allows the operator to quickly and inexpensively determine the relative toxicity of a water sample. The presence of toxins in a sample will reduce or delay the intensity of the light output. In fact, the reduction of light measured by the luminometer is proportional to the toxicity of the sample. The reaction happens quickly, verifying the safety of the water or alerting the operator to contamination in just a few minutes.